


Guard Alone

by Random_Scribbling



Series: FN@J's [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Animatronics, Don't worry, Fix-It of Sorts, Plot Bunnies - Freeform, Purple Guy sucks, Security Guard OC, Security Guard is not Mike Schmidt, ghost children, he comes later, nice animatronics of sorts, scrambled timeline AU, weird timeline blurring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-08 20:24:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8859754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Scribbling/pseuds/Random_Scribbling
Summary: Mike Schmidt calls about the job at Freddy Fazbear's, only to find that the job of night guard is already taken. Josephine Scott, however, had no idea what she was getting in to when she applied for the job. Can she survive and discover the secrets of the pizzeria, or will they be looking for another guard next week?





	1. The Night Guard: in which more than one person is confused, animatronics are distrubed, and ghost children are angry

**Author's Note:**

> So a bit of clarification: this was written before Sister Location came out, so this is officially AU. Most information will be revealed in the story or its sequel (hopefully) but if there are too many questions please leave me a note and I'll try to deliver. This began as a plot-bunny and can be a bit Mary-Sue, so please leave any advice you can. 
> 
> And with that, enjoy!

FNAJ part 1

Summary: The usual night guard routine of hire, kill, hide is disrupted when the manager hires a woman for the first time. Will this one lady be able to throw the animatronics off enough to try and solve the dark mysteries of Freddy Fazbear’s? Warning for extremely dark scenes of torture and the potential for pairings in later chapters.

Note: This started as a self-indulgent fanfic but spawned into an AU with so many personal headcanons that I can’t get rid of it. Therefore I inflict it upon you all.

OoOoOoOoO

The quiet murmur of a small television fills the tiny kitchen of the small apartment as the owner slumps on her rickety kitchen table.

“I need a job,” she mutters grouchily into the sticky plastic as she glares over at the papers that spell out exactly that in complicated rows of numbers and sums.

“I really need a job.” A huffed breath tosses a limp strand of dyed-red hair out of the woman’s face. Groaning she straightens up in her seat, reaching up with a callused hand to brush the rest of her shoulder-length hair back out of her brown eyes. After taking a minute to gather up the motivation to do more than stare, she reluctantly grabs the newspaper from its spot on the table and flips it open to the classified section. She idly scans the ads for a moment and has already discarded requests for a dishwasher and secretary before her eyes land on something interesting. Plucking the nearby phone from its cradle she dials the number listed and pulls out a red pen to make notes on the flimsy paper. “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza,” a cheery voice greets as the call is answered.

“Hi, my name is Josephine Scott, I’m calling about the night guard job,” the woman explains, pen tapping and then scratching as she notes her potential hours, pay, and certain contract details.

“Okay, of course we’ll still need to do an interview, and you’ll need to bring in a copy of your resume, but that should be it,” the voice on the phone declares after about twenty minutes of conversation. They hesitate for a second, and then continue, “Out of curiosity, why are you interested in the position?”

Josephine, hidden across town in her run-down apartment, shrugs.

“A night job won’t interfere with my engineering classes,” she answers.

“Huh, you might actually have a chance then,” the voice muses. The woman frowns.

“A chance?” There’s a pause during which the voice is probably nodding.

“Yeah. We’ve had a bunch of applicants for this position, but no one’s lasted more than a week before being fired. I think it’s got something to do with the animatronics, but I don’t know, I’m just the day manager. But if you know a bit about mechanical stuff, maybe you’ll stay on longer,” they explain. Brow furrowed, Josephine answers one or two more questions before hanging up. For a second she stares at the receiver, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck prickle with dread, as if she’s just made a horrible mistake. She shakes it off and goes on with her day, mentally making a list of all the things she has to prepare before her first night of work. Guarding at night and then class during the day will be a grueling schedule, but with no classes until noon and then getting out by nine it should work out alright. The pen and paper are abandoned on the table as she stands, the ad circled in red still front and center.

OoOoOoOoO

Across town a man puts down the note from his day-time counterpart and turns to his calendar, already scribbling down a date to interview the girl. She would be the first woman to be night guard, but if she’s studying mechanics… The man gives a mental shrug. More likely than not she’ll go just like the others and he’ll be hiring again in a week or so. Now if he can just find someone stupid enough to occupy the other guard position he’ll be set. The phone rings.

“Ah, Mr. Schmidt. Why yes, actually; a position just opened up, and I believe you’ll be perfect for it. A night guard? Of course not! In fact, you’d be head of security. No, it’s an old location. Yes. Yes, sir. If you come in tomorrow I can give you the details. Yes. Alright, see you then.” The phone returns to its cradle as a smug grin worms across the manager’s face. Perfect; both positions filled, and, by the end of the week, Michael Schmidt will no longer be a thorn in the company’s side. A neat solution to their problem. Satisfied, the manager pulls a cigarette from a pack in the drawer and lights it up as he continues his work.

OoOoOoOoO

Three days later Josephine tugs at the tie around her neck with a frown as she jiggles the key in the lock of the pizzeria. The door finally opens and the woman slips inside before relocking the doors behind her. Tugging at the cuffs of her uncomfortable uniform shirt she approaches the main stage, eyeing the animatronics still frozen there in strange positions. Even bent over and posed as they are the singing machines are much taller than the five foot eight woman. Chica, the shortest of the bunch at six feet tall, still towers over her, the effect heightened by the fact that all three performers are all up on the stage. Jo glances around her new workplace. She has been here before, of course, to sign the paperwork, but the place is entirely different without hordes of screaming children swarming the floor.

There’s the stage, of course, and a couple of doors leading to different areas, but the two hallways at the back of the room draw her attention the most. Well, them and the curtained alcove that hides the infamous fox animatronic. Checking her watch to make sure that she still has time before her shift, Josephine wanders back to the security office. It’s a fairly simple set up: chair, fan, phone, doors. She makes herself comfortable in the seat and sighs deeply. The uniform may be itchy, and the ugly shade of eggplant purple would make anyone look horrible, but it’s a job, and it’ll keep her in rent money for the month if she can last long enough to get the promotion promised in the contract.

Tugging the guard cap more firmly onto her head as the clock strikes twelve, Jo is about to pull up the cameras like she was shown when the phone rings. Unsure whether to answer it or not, the woman hesitates. After a moment the decision is taken from her as the phone goes to an answering machine.

“Hello? Hello, hello!” A cheerful man’s voice rings out. One eyebrow raised in confusion, Josephine listens carefully to the recorded message, her lips quirking as the guard on the phone goes on about the animatronics. She scoffs quietly when the recording ends. Seriously? Robots don’t work like that; one night isn’t enough to make servos lock up unless they’re in dire need of repair, and even then the AIs of the animatronics would have to be incredibly advanced to do anything like the Phone Guy is suggesting. And if they were that complicated, even then, they’d be smart enough to know a human from an endoskeleton. He’s just messing with her.

Eyeing the time, already after two am, Jo grimaces to herself. She’s really been slacking. Finally reaching over and pulling up the cameras, she checks them one by one, working from her office outward. Both halls: clear. The supply room and kitchen: clear, though the kitchen camera seems to be broken. Pirate’s Cove and the bathrooms: clear. The stage… Jo frowns.

“The heck…” she mutters, leaning forward and blinking hard as if that will change what the screen is showing her. The rabbit is gone. The Freddy and Chica are still in the same positions as before, but Bonnie is missing from the stage.

“What on Earth,” Josephine whispers. On instinct she changes the camera once more and jerks when she finds the missing bunny backstage. The darkness makes him look extremely creepy, and the angle makes it look like the animatronic is actually staring at the camera. The guard feels a shiver go up her spine and she eyes her power levels warily. All is quiet for an hour, most of the time spent flicking through the cameras, and the only event is Bonnie darting out into the dining hall for a moment before returning backstage. When the rabbit moves Jo tells herself that it’s just her imagination that she hears scraping metal footsteps from down the hall.

“What the heck is going on,” she hisses to herself, desperately trying to keep the rising fear at bay. The Phone Guy hadn’t been lying about the animatronics moving; what if he was telling the truth about the other thing, too? Those thoughts spinning in her head, Josephine lets out a curse when she finally notices that Chica is now missing from the stage as well, and Bonnie has moved to stand at the end of the west hall. He’s moved closer to her, and Jo ignores that as best she can until she finally locates the wayward chicken near the lady’s restrooms. She switches between the two and jumps in her seat when Chica makes her way from the bathrooms to the end of the east hall, moving ever closer in limping steps. Bonnie’s heavier tread is also coming her way.

“Don’t panic,” Jo mutters to herself, clenching her hands on the desk as she shoves her chair back a pace, prepared to slam either door if she sees an animatronic coming closer. It may be five in the morning, with less than an hour left on her shift, but she’s at thirty percent power and she doesn’t want to risk dying. Glancing around, Josephine frowns as she notices something. The areas right outside her doors are pitch black, an impenetrable darkness, and now that she thinks about it she probably can’t see them on her cameras. With a prickling feeling crawling up her neck the guard slowly reaches over and turns on the left light.

Bonnie stares down at her, red eyes wide and mouth gaping in a menacing grin. With a shouted curse Jo slams her hand down on the close button, sliding a sheet of metal down between herself and the purple behemoth. She jumps to her feet, eyes wide with terror and chest heaving as she tries to calm down. A flick of the light reveals the bunny still standing, waiting, outside, eyes fixed on the metal panel. After a few minutes the robot shrieks with something like frustration before wandering back down the hall, steps heavy and thumping like the pulse of a giant.

Josephine collapses in her chair, checking her cameras to see that Bonnie has made his way backstage and Chica has once again retreated to the bathrooms. Jo has twenty percent left. Ten minutes later the woman jumps violently when her phone alarm goes off, chiming like a grandfather clock. It’s six am. Morning; her shift is done. She’s free. Staring at the time in disbelief, Josephine pulls up the cameras one last time. All three band members are now on stage, posed just the same as the night before. With shaking hands the guard shuts down the cameras and gathers her bag from beside her chair. Shifting the large purse to her shoulder, she strides from the office and out to the main room.

Josephine forces herself to walk towards the stage, stepping slowly forward until she stands in front of the Freddy animatronic in a warped reflection of the beginning of her shift. For a second she considers saying something; that’s what the heroes in stories always do, right? In the end, though, she just turns around and exits the pizzeria. The woman makes it to her car and all the way back to her tiny apartment before she finally breaks down. Josephine collapses on her couch, staring blankly at the spot where she’ll put a TV if she ever gets one.

“What. The. Fuck,” she asks, softly but with great feeling. The wall has no answers.

OoOoOoOoO

After a couple of hours of fitful sleep, Jo had put her partial engineering degree to good use and read everything she could get her hands on regarding animatronics and the strange limited power she had at the pizzeria. Armed with a toolbox and a plan, it’s a tired but determined woman who marches into the pizzeria an hour before her shift starts. The cleaning crew, after doing a half-hearted job, had fled an hour after the place closed at nine o’clock, so the place is deserted, giving the aspiring mechanic plenty of time to set up her traps. With a grim smile Jo gets to work.

OoOoOoOoO

The alarm on her cell phone chimes, the grandfather clock’s solemn tones sounding strange as they come from the tiny device even as they faithfully toll out twelve rings. Josephine, seated in her swivel chair, listens to the final bell fade and turns to her monitor with a smile.

“Let’s get started,” she smirks. For a moment there’s only silence, the tension growing as the guard pulls up the camera and stares at the stage, daring the animatronics to move. The ringing of the phone startles her. Jo jumps, almost falling out of the chair, and paws at the messy desk as she looks for the phone. Before she can reach it, however, the machine answers and the same man’s voice from last night fills the small office.

“Hello? Hello,” he greets again. Jo keeps a half ear on the broadcast as she watches the cameras, noting what the man says about blind spots, but then he mentions a fourth animatronic.

“Yeah, so just check on the Cove every now and then,” Phone Guy instructs, the voice from the past oblivious to the murderous glare the guard is giving the phone. All of her plans had hinged on three animatronics, and only those three! A fourth could throw everything off! Snarling to herself about horrendous working conditions and idiotic employers, Jo hastily flips to the camera and jumps. A metallic muzzle topped by two glowing silver eyes is already peeking through the curtains.

“You stay right where you are,” she hisses, furious, before flipping back to the main stage. Bonnie is gone. Rather than panicking, however, Josephine smirks and flips to another camera. As the mechanical bunny stalks slowly around the pizzeria the guard sits back to watch the show.

OoOoOoOoO

Bonnie’s fingers twitch and strum out imaginary chords as he makes his way through the tables and towards the hallway.

_“Gonna get him, gonna get him, gonna get him, stuff him, stuff him,”_ a voice whispers gleefully at the back of his processor, the ringing of it making his head ache, and Bonnie fights back a wince by mentally composing a new song. Perhaps, after this guard was gone, he would be left in peace for a bit to practice his guitar. His musings are brought to an abrupt halt as the world tilts alarmingly and he falls backwards with a huge smash! Gazing up at the ceiling tiles, the rabbit blinks for a moment as several systems reboot, trying to figure out what happened and why he’s flat on his back.

With a drawn-out groan Bonnie sits up, one hand on his head as he looks down the hall. A small blanket, nearly the same color as the floor, lies innocently in the hallway, crumpled slightly where he had slipped on it in the darkness. The rabbit stands up slowly, grunting at the ache in his limbs at the rough treatment, and wobbles a little as his stabilizers do their job. He stares down at the blanket for a moment in confusion. What on Earth is it doing here?

Still thinking on the odd situation, Bonnie carefully steps around the strange obstacle and continues down the hall, getting about halfway before realizing that his attempts at silence are in vain. The metal door is firmly shut, protecting the guard in plenty of time. Bonnie glares through the window. It’s the same woman from last night, dressed in the purple uniform and leaning back in her chair with her feet on the desk, the screen displaying the Cove. She tilts her head towards the window, turning on the light for a minute to make sure he’s there, before giving the bunny a wide grin and mocking wave. Growling at the cheeky guard, Bonnie stomps back down the hall only to slip on the blanket again.

OoOoOoOoO

Jo chuckles lowly to herself as she hears the rabbit crash to the ground for a second time. The blanket across the floor was the oldest trick in the book, one she had set in both halls, though it was mostly to give her time. Checking on the Cove again, Jo makes sure that the fox hasn’t moved a lot before she returns to her work. Now if she were a label on a finicky metal door, where would she hide…

OoOoOoOoO

They don’t get her that night, Chica slipping on the blanket in the opposite hall and alerting Josephine to her presence before the chicken can get very close. Foxy doesn’t even make it out of the Cove, the camera light flicking on enough that he knows the guard is keeping a close eye on him. When the sun peeks over the horizon Bonnie reluctantly makes his way to the stage, his passenger shrieking in fury at their thwarted plans. Josephine emerges from her office a few minutes later, collects both blankets, and offers the animatronics a satisfied smirk when she passes them on her way out. She even sends Foxy a wink where the pirate is still peering out from between the curtains. The three band members exchange glances. Tomorrow night for sure.

OoOoOoOoO

They don’t get her the third night. The blankets are still there, and while Bonnie and Chica manage to avoid them this time Foxy trips over one and falls hard, nearly taking off his own jaw when it slams into the tiles. Bonnie gets the closest again, almost halfway down the hall when he feels a light pressure on his foot. He looks down, sees that he’s stepped on a string stretched across the hall, and barely looks back up in time to see the paint can swing down from the ceiling and slam into his head. He shrieks in pain as he goes over backwards again, the agony increasing when the back of his head strikes the cool tiles.

Dazed and feeling like something important has been knocked loose, Bonnie ignores his passenger shouting in the back of his processors. He stumbles to his feet just in time to hear the grandfather clock chime six and slowly shambles back to the stage, helm still throbbing from the impact. Something has changed; his passenger is quiet, quieter than he’s been in a long time, quiet enough to ignore for once. As he takes his place on stage, Bonnie sets his processors to wondering why they have to kill the night guard in the first place and allows them to spin, working through the problem even as his endoskeleton freezes and goes through the motions of entertaining the children that come pouring through the doors of the pizzeria.

OoOoOoOoO

The fourth night is the kicker. After setting up the traps, these more elaborate than last nights, Jo sets the tablet to stare at Pirate’s Cove and ignores it, intent on her work. Working fast she pops the cover off of the light and door switches to the right hand door to reveal the electronics beneath. Wires are yanked from her bag and attached to the car battery in precise configurations. If she can just hook up this door so that it doesn’t use the central power, she can close it all night, and she could last the whole time with the other door closed on the remaining power from the pizzeria. If only she could get this to work…

Taking a deep breath, Josephine glances out into the hallway to make sure no one is creeping up on her before she goes back to work. Dimly the amateur mechanic is aware of the smash-bang of someone, probably that rabbit, falling for her latest trick. She works faster, fingers flying over wires and connections and she hisses once or twice as she gets shocked. Keeping one ear on the hall behind her, it’s around two o’clock when Jo takes a deep breath, furrows her brows, and presses the door button. The right panel slams shut and she checks the tablet. She grins. The only thing drawing power right now are the security cameras, which are still set on the Cove and what she’s pretty sure is a sulky, out of order pirate fox. Grinning, flushed with victory and shocked that her crazy idea actually worked, Jo spins around in her swivel chair and pumps her fists happily.

“Yes!” She shouts. And then she catches sight of the left door and pales. The rabbit, somehow, has managed to make its way past all of the traps and is standing in front of the door, one hand already reaching inside the guard room. Josephine launches forward, frantically stabbing at the button with one finger, and the hand swipes at her before it’s forced to retreat before the sliding metal panel. Breathing hard and feeling the adrenaline flooding her veins, Jo jumps to the window and grins ferociously out.

“Ha!” She yells, feeling far more confident in taunting the electronics now that she’s safe behind her doors. “Take that, Bonnie! I’m safe!” She laughs, though it comes out as more of a hysterical cackle. She glances over at the clock (2:30) and sits back down in her swivel chair.

“Huh,” she mutters to herself, looking down at her lap. “My hands are shaking…” Curling her body, Jo brings her knees to her chest and huddles there, cold despite the slight stuffiness of the office now that the fan is off. She eyes the battery (70%) and realizes that nothing is going to happen. For the rest of the night she can just sit here, like this, and not worry about dying or getting hurt. She’s finally safe at work. But what about the others? The night guards who weren’t as smart as she was, the ones who had failed. Jo thought they had gotten fired, but after the past four nights and the latest message from the man she’s been calling Phone Guy… She manages a shaky laugh that she stops before it can become a sob. Glancing up, Jo catches sight of the rabbit lurking in the dimly lit hallway.

“What are you still doing here?” She growls, furious even through the tears in her eyes. “You can just screw off, you stupid rabbit!” Bonnie still stands there, motionless, and Jo frowns. Shoving back her still gibbering emotion she moves to stand in front of the window, mirroring the rabbit with her arms crossed over her chest. She stares the animatronic in the eye, green meeting glassy red. Bonnie fights to keep his face from twisting into a snarl as his passenger rages.

_“Stuff her, stuff her, stuff her, kill her, make her suffer,”_ he rages, twisting and turning in knots at the back of the rabbit’s processor. After another few moments Bonnie wins back control of his voice box. His mouth gapes open slightly.

“Save…Them…” He croaks. Jo blinks in confusion.

“Save who?” She asks, fighting off the encroaching hysteria as she tries to take in this new development.

“Save. Them,” Bonnie says again. Jo frowns in confusion.

“I don’t understand. Who do you want me to save?” She questions. Bonnie grits his teeth in frustration. How can he make her understand? Josephine watches, heart thumping in her chest as one purple hand reaches slowly up. Bonnie’s hand grasps the soft fabric of his face and tugs. Old threads rip, ancient glue gives way, and the entire front of the costume head tears off to reveal gnashing mechanical parts with two bright red lights where the eyes should be. And centered in all of the machinery, nestled among the metal and untouched despite the parts moving centimeters away, glints the white shine of bone. Josephine’s eyes widen and she stumbles back, a hand going to her mouth as she fights back nausea. There, inside Bonnie’s head, is a skull. It’s small, almost toy sized, and it takes Jo a moment to realize what that means.

“Oh my God,” she chokes, stomach twisting. Her mind flashes to what her little bit of research turned up. She had been trying to find out what animatronic was hiding behind the curtains, even though the name Foxy made it fairly obvious, and had come across something else. The five missing children. The bodies that were never found; there were probably people still out there looking, hoping that their children, now adults, would be returned to them. Tears spring to the guard’s eyes as she connects the dots.

“Oh my God,” she repeats. Josephine collapses back into her chair as Bonnie stares at her, red eyes over small white skull. The rabbit relaxes slightly. It looks like she understands. His moment of relief, however, turns to dread as his passenger surges forward, taking over. His empty hand balls into a fist and thumps against the glass as a shriek emerges from his voice box. Jo gasps as the red lights turn silver and the rabbit bangs on the window, his voice ringing through the office. She fights the urge to cover her ears, wincing, and listens, determined. As the noise winds down, Jo feels all the blood drain from her face as the shriek, garbled and filled with static, twists, turns, and finally resolves into something new. As the power decreases the warped noise turns into the angry scream of a furious child. Crying, Jo stands and moves to the window, placing one hand against Bonnie’s fist, and smiles grimly.

“Don’t worry, Bonnie,” the guard says firmly. “I’m going to figure out what’s going on here.”

Bonnie, still being driven by his passenger, shrieks again and turns away angrily, stomping down the hall. Jo sits in her chair, pulls a notebook and pencil from one of the cluttered desk drawers, and scribbles down a few notes. As the time winds down and the night slips away Josephine considers the five missing kids, the skull inside Bonnie, and the difference between how the animatronic acted when his eyes were red and when they were that flashing silver.

When six rolls around and the clock chimes Josephine gathers her stuff and leaves the office, setting the car battery under the desk and hooking it up to charge from the wall during the day. When she marches out to the stage, Bonnie’s face is sitting on one of the tables while the robot himself is standing on stage. Jo grimaces. If management sees this they’ll freak. Rummaging in her bag, the guard finds the roll of tape she uses in her traps and grabs the soft front of Bonnie’s face. Twisting a few pieces in on themselves so that they’re sticky on both sides she puts them where the glue used to be and steps up onto the stage. She ignores the feeling of being watched and reaches up, carefully sticking the fabric back onto the metal. Soon red eyes stare blankly back out over the dining hall and Josephine sticks a few more pieces of tape underneath the fur to keep it secure. Jo takes a step back, puts her hands on her hips, and fights the shiver that goes down her spine when she notices that all of the animatronics have moved to pin her in a stony gaze.

“I’ll see you tonight,” she says after a second before turning and walking out.

OoOoOoOoO


	2. The Kids: in which some truths are revealed, research is done, and the night guard is further traumatized

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!! This chapter gets fairly graphic in terms of violence and gore, to a level that remains fairly steady throughout this fic and what I've written for its sequels. If such things disturb you I regretfully recommend that you find another fanfiction to read. Gore in this chapter includes: violence towards children, kicking, cutting off of extremities, stabbing, crushing, and extreme bleeding. This is not a story where the children get happy endings. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the chapter!

_Previously: _

_When six rolls around and the clock chimes Josephine gathers her stuff and leaves the office, setting the car battery under the desk and hooking it up to charge from the wall during the day. When she marches out to the stage, Bonnie’s face is sitting on one of the tables while the robot himself is standing on stage. Jo grimaces. If management sees this they’ll freak. Rummaging in her bag, the guard finds the roll of tape she uses in her traps and grabs the soft front of Bonnie’s face. Twisting a few pieces in on themselves so that they’re sticky on both sides she puts them where the glue used to be and steps up onto the stage. She ignores the feeling of being watched and reaches up, carefully sticking the fabric back onto the metal. Soon red eyes stare blankly back out over the dining hall and Josephine sticks a few more pieces of tape underneath the fur to keep it secure. Jo takes a step back, puts her hands on her hips, and fights the shiver that goes down her spine when she notices that all of the animatronics have moved to pin her in a stony gaze._

_“I’ll see you tonight,” she says after a second before turning and walking out._

OoOoOoOoO

Six hours later Josephine rolls out of bed and blinks blearily at her ceiling. She looks up, mind spinning slowly in the warm stillness of her bedroom, and the noon sunshine streaming through the cracks in the curtains makes it easier to say the word that she couldn’t say in the dark of the night.

“Ghosts,” she croaks. Finally saying the word sends her brain shooting off like a rocket. How do you get rid of ghosts? Are all ghosts evil? How would the kids even become ghosts in the first place? Josephine forces herself up and dressed before tromping down to the library to look through the books. If someone had told her, even two weeks ago, that she would be hunting for books on how to get rid of ghosts, she would have laughed in their faces, but now she pages through old texts with a single-minded fervor, desperately trying to find something before her shift begins at what she is now certain is a haunted restaurant.

OoOoOoOoO

The last member of the cleaning crew hastily tugs his hat on his head and steps outside. He’s surprised when a woman, dressed as a security guard, holds the door.

“What are you doing here?” He asks gruffly.

“Just coming in early,” she offers, awkwardly slipping past him despite the bulging bag at her side. For a second the janitor wonders if he should try to stop her before he shrugs and continues on his way. If she wants to try for some overtime, power to her. Josephine watches him go for a moment, and then turns to the main area of the pizzeria.

“Let’s give this a shot,” she mutters, hefting her heavier than normal bag and moving towards the stage. Bonnie’s face, held on as it is by tape, comes off easily. Grimacing, Jo gingerly pulls the tiny skull from its place among the machinery of the animatronic and holds it in her other hand while she reattaches the face. Her time in the library had come up with many ways to evict ghosts, but only this one worked with just part of the bones; anything else and she’d have to find the rest of the body. Apparently this was used by the early church to evict demons before the belief in such became unpopular, so hopefully she isn’t making things worse instead of chasing out the ghost. Not to mention that while she has a suspicion about where the rest of the children are, Jo’s not looking forward to prying every animatronic apart one at a time and hunting down every bone shard if this method doesn’t work.

Skull in hand the guard retreats to her office, hastily putting the bone down on her desk as she jury-rigs the old car battery back to the right hand door and closes the other, glad that the power doesn’t become limited for another two hours. That complete Josephine kicks several papers on the floor away to form a clear space about a yard in diameter, just large enough for her to sit with a space in front. That done she removes a large container of salt from her bag and kneels down. The salt gets poured into a circle, checked and double checked to ensure that there are no gaps, while several symbols, copied from books at the library, are scribbled onto the floor in easy-clean markers, the kind wiped away with a simple damp paper towel. One more rune is carefully inked onto the kid’s skull before it is place in the center of the circle and sprinkled with salt. A tea candle is place in front of it and gets the same treatment, scribbled and salted, before Josephine settles into a seated position on the floor, the circle between her splayed legs. She draws another symbol on each hand and glances at her watch. Ten thirty; she’s got plenty of time, she hopes. Cracking her neck nervously, Jo shakes her hands to dry the marker ink and then huffs nervously.

“Please let this work,” she mutters, appealing to whoever will listen, and pulls out her lighter. A flick, and the candle is lit. Jo tosses it away and stares at the candle, tense. For a long moment nothing happens. Her watch flicks through one minute, and then another. The pizzeria is silent, the lights dim, and the candle does nothing but flicker slightly in the waves of air caused by Jo’s breathing. And then, just when Jo is starting to think that she may be going crazy after all, the heat of the candle flame melts the wax the rune is drawn on. The instant the symbol is heated Jo gasps, feeling as if her entire body has been lit on fire, before her vision goes dark and the last thing she sees is the skull in front of her glowing a dark, angry purple.

OoOoOoOoO

_His name is Terry, and it’s his eighth birthday today! He is so happy; he gets to get together with all his friends and go to the best place in the whole work, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza! Awesome! The boy grins, dark brown hair tousled from running around with his friends and greasy from pizza-eating hands shoving it away as their owner focuses on beating that video game. He shouts victoriously. Yes! He beat it! Take that, you evil pizza-stealing fiend! Terry’s celebration is cut short by an announcement. The show is about to start! Yes! Grinning from ear to ear the birthday boy shoves at his friends until he’s at the front of the crowd._

_There they are! Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica! Singing about pizza and friends and video games! All three of his favorite things! When the song ends Terry cheers and begins to wander back towards the other video games. They were so cool, but Bonnie was definitely the coolest. Still excited from the performance Terry strums a few chords on his air guitar and strikes a pose, just like Bonnie!_

_“Wow kid, that’s pretty good.” Terry blinks and looks up. Purple. So much purple. Purple, and a wide, wide smile. “That looked just like Bonnie! He must be your favorite, huh?” Terry grins and nods, glad to find someone who agrees with him._

_“Bonnie is the coolest!” He declares firmly. A chuckle._

_“He sure is. Hey, how’d you like to meet Bonnie, in person?” Terry gapes up at him. Meet Bonnie, his idol?!_

_“YES!” He’s jumping up and down in excitement, but stills when the person makes a ‘stop’ motion._

_“Quiet, you wouldn’t want to attract attention, would you? Then they’d all want to see Bonnie, and then he might not have as much time to spend with you!” Terry gapes and presses both hands over his mouth. The Purple Man’s right! The boy nods frantically._

_“Can we go see him now?” He asks, taking his hands away long enough to get the question out before replacing them, wide eyes pleading. Another chuckle._

_“Sure kid, we can go now. Just follow me, but remember! Not a word, or Bonnie might not want to see you!” Terry grins and drops his hands, trotting along at his new friend’s heels. They go through the twisting, winding hallways of the pizzeria, ducking around the groups of kids and adults talking. Terry grins. It’s like playing secret agents with his friends! Finally they reach a part of the pizzeria where there aren’t any people, the noise of the party far away._

_“Are we getting close?” Terry whispers as they pause next to a door. The Purple Man turns to him. A wide, wide smile._

_“We’re here,” he replies, opening the door. With a muffled squeal of glee Terry darts in, barreling into the middle of the room. He’s so excited he doesn’t hear the click of the door locking, only registering a moment after entering that the room is dark and mostly empty. It’s a supply closet, with bottles of cleaning solution, tape, lightbulbs, and other things on a cluttered shelf on the opposite wall._

_“Where’s Bonnie?” Terry asks, confused. He turns to his new friend just in time to yelp as something is slapped across his face. It’s thick and sticky, a slab of tape long enough to wrap around his entire head. For the first time, Terry is afraid. He kicks out, but Purple Man just smiles and winds the tape around his arms and legs, again and again until Terry wriggles around on the floor like a caterpillar the boy saw one time. His friend had stepped on it and laughed. Scared, Terry looks up just as the man steps on him like his friend stepped on that caterpillar. Terry squeaks as the foot sinks into his stomach, curling up. It comes down again, now on his head, and still the man smiles that wide, wide smile, even as his foot comes down on the boy’s ear. Again and again the boot stomps, and Terry whimpers behind the tape as his vision goes fuzzy. Eventually the pain fades to a dull sense of something just thumping against him as his vision darkens. Everything fades, his vision going dark and the chuckles dimming to a strange murmur in his ears. Strange; one of his ears doesn’t seem to be working right. Dragging himself to a strange kind of half-awareness, Terry manages to crack his eyes open enough to blink blearily._

_The floor is red, and wet, and there’s something curved and pale pink covered in red in front of his face. The child’s glazed eyes idly trace the shape of his own ear where it lies abandoned on the tile. Terry closes his eyes. When he opens them again he’s vaguely aware of his limbs being moved, whimpering weakly as the tape is ripped carelessly from his arms and legs. There are other whimpers, not his, and Terry catches another glimpse of huddled shapes against the far wall before his world once more dissolves into a more intense pain than he’s ever known._

_It’s in his legs first, then his arms, like that time he stepped on a nail but a thousand times worse, something poking deep into him where it shouldn’t be, until only his head is spared the burning pain. Terry forces his eyes open, staring tearfully up at Purple. There again is that wide, wide smile._

_“Good night, Bonnie,” the Purple Guy whispers next to the hole that used to be his ear before closing the mask. Terry shrieks as he feels the metal closing in, the pressure on his eyes, his mouth, he tries to scream—_

OoOoOoOoO

Josephine lurches upright with a scream of terror, eyes wide and hands scrabbling at her face. She’s fine, she’s okay, and she’s not in a suit. Her name is Josephine, not Terry, and she’s a twenty-two year old woman, not an eight year old boy. She’s fine, she has both her ears, and she’s the night guard at a place that seems to take pleasure in torturing and killing its night guards. Breathing hard Jo looks down at the space that she’s somehow managed not to damage in her flailing. Where the skull once was is only a small pile of white ash. The salt has vanished as well, leaving smudged marker on the floor and her hands. Turning around and half-rising, Jo leans up and looks at the camera.

It’s already twelve-thirty and only Freddy is left on stage, staring into the camera with silver eyes. Thumps and clangs from the kitchen confirm Chica’s location, and Foxy is barely peeking out from between his curtains. The camera in the supply closet seems to take longer than usual to load but soon reveals Bonnie lurking inside.

The sight of the closet, almost unchanged despite the no doubt many years, sends a shiver down Jo’s spine. Shaking it off the guard sits back down and looks down. She pulls a packet of wipes from her bag and quickly wipes the runes off of her hands and the floor, leaving the pile of bone dust where it is for now. Throwing herself back into her chair, Jo stares at the pile on the floor that was one fourth of what had been killing all of the night guards. Another shudder wracks her body as she remembers a foot coming down on her head, a wet tearing and a sudden absence at the side of her head. She realizes that she’s rubbing her ear and forces herself to stop, moving her hand to her lap. It’s only when she looks down that all of the pieces come together.

Jo goes pale and feels like she’s going to throw up as she stares down at her purple arms and legs, the violet covering her torso in the ugliest uniform known to man. The murderer, Purple Guy, was a guard, someone meant to protect the very children he brutally murdered. Swallowing hard, Josephine hastily unbuttons her uniform shirt and yanks it of so that she’s only clad in a plain white undershirt and the dark purple pants. She would remove them, too, but she’s got nothing underneath, so the guard settles for shoving the offensive shirt into the bottom of her bag.

Straightening, the woman jumps when she spots Bonnie outside the window. Her tape job has come partly undone, the rabbit’s face sliding down to obscure one crimson eye. For a second she can’t breathe, the memories of metal arms and legs closing over her own too strong, but then she shoves aside her panic and frowns at the bunny.

“What do you want?” She demands, crossing her arms to hide how her hands shake. Bonnie reaches up and adjust the soft fabric so that he can see her clearly, this strange woman. How can he explain, how can he describe this strange emptiness in his head, the blessed quiet now that it’s only his own thoughts spinning around his processor? How to condense all these thoughts? He shrugs. Jo blinks. That… looks like a shrug.

“Can you understand me?” She asks slowly. She thought, once the ghost was gone, the animatronics would go back to being regular robots, just standing or walking aimlessly, but Bonnie’s nod is proving her wrong.

“Do you know who you are?” Jo asks, trying to determine exactly how smart this rabbit it. Another nod.

“Bon… Nie,” the animatronic rasps out around a damaged voice box. Josephine bites her lip, unsure how to continue until her eyes land on the small pile of ash still taking up space on her floor.

“Do you know who the ghost was?” She questions. Another nod.

“Terry,” comes the reply, and she must really be going crazy because the seven foot tall mechanical rabbit actually manages to look sad. Josephine nods.

“But he’s gone now? He’s not possessing you?” She persists. A third nod makes her relax slightly. The purifying ritual worked; now all she has to do is do the same ritual with the other three animatronics. Josephine smiles at Bonnie and glances at the clock. One-thirty in the morning. She sits back down in her swivel chair and looks at the camera. Freddy has finally moved and is glaring at the right hand camera, silver eyes an inch from the lens, and Jo scowls.

“You’re next, you creep,” she growls. Bonnie remains where he is, content, for now, to observe this woman who was able to do something no one else had done in more than ten years. When the night ends Jo looks up to watch Bonnie stomp back to the stage with the other three robots. She unhooks the car battery and sets it to charge again, grabs her bag, and once again is left with the issue of what to do with the pile of bone dust on the floor. Finally she shrugs and elects to leave it alone. It was once a kid, then it was an angry ghost, and now it’s dust; dust is the janitor’s problem, not hers. She leaves the building with a cheerful smile that morning, ready to get some sleep and face the next night

OoOoOoOoO

Jo arrives the next night, reluctantly re-clothed in her uniform, armed with her salt, candles, markers, and a pocket knife to cut the fabric away from the other three animatronics, as well as some glue to hopefully make Bonnie’s face stay more firmly in place. A few dabs of super glue and then she chews a lip, eyeing the stage thoughtfully. She threatened to exorcise Freddy this morning, but, realistically, Foxy is the greatest threat. If she didn’t have to have the camera focused on him, she could lock down the doors as soon as she got in without worrying about draining the battery too much. Nodding to herself, the guard ducks behind the curtains into the Pirate’s Cove. She blinks as her eyes adjust to the dimness.

Barely a foot behind the curtain the stage is transformed into a pirate ship, with faux-wooden walls rising from the stage with portholes cut into them. Standing at the bow of the ‘ship’ is its captain. Foxy, his fabric skin torn and moldy, looks out at the curtain, jaw flopping limply as he gazes into what should be the high seas. The wall behind him is painted into a whimsical ocean scene, and though the paint is faded and chipped with age Josephine can tell that when it was fresh the mural would have suited the rest of the restaurant. She turns and copies the animatronic for a moment, looking out at the curtain and to what lies beyond. For a second she can almost see it: the tiles clean and gleaming, the table cloths crisp, Freddy and the rest of the band playing cheery, catchy songs that are certain to get stuck in your head, and balloons drifting around the ceiling as children race around, playing games and watching the show. She sighs regretfully. This place must have been beautiful in its hay-day. Shaking herself out of it, Jo turns back to work.

She carefully clambers up the fake ship and picks her way across the pitted surface to the animatronic. As she gets closer to the robot she eyes the head carefully. Jo spots the seams of the fabric and carefully slices them through with her knife. A few tugs loosens it enough that she is able to peel it away. Just as with Bonnie the tiny skull is there, nestled between gears and wires. She grimaces and reaches forward, wrapping her fingers around the aged bone. She does have to tug a bit to release the bone from its spot, but soon she retreats to her office. The battery is hooked up and the doors shut in record time, the camera still set on Foxy just in case. Josephine redraws her purification circle, getting faster with the extra practice.

Only a few minutes later she is cross-legged outside the circle, turning the lighter over in her hand and eyeing the skull warily. She glances at the clock and grimaces. She shouldn’t delay, but she’s not eager to die again, either. Her sleep had been plagued with nightmares of a purple figure all day. Finally she sighs and lights the candle. Jo watches with dread pooling in her stomach as the candle burns, and melts, until the wax warms and the flame reaches the sigil. The skull glows a sickly crimson, her body burns, and she’s—

OoOoOoOoO

_He’s a little confused, looking around. It’s his friend Terry’s birthday today, but he can’t see him anywhere. He lifts his awesome eyepatch so he can see better, and climbs onto a chair like it’s the bow of at ship. His best friend Foxy has a ship, too! He’s even the captain! For a second Nick grins, pulling his sword from his belt and pretending to slash at his enemies before he remembers why he climbed to this crow’s nest in the first place. First Mate Terry has gone missing, and it’s up to Captain Nick to find him!_

_“What’cha doin’ Nick?” A voice asks from the floor. The ginger boy looks down at the blonde girl gazing curiously up at him._

_“It’s Captain Nick to you, swabbie,” he says proudly as he jumps off the chair. “And I’m looking for First Mate Terry. Have you seen him?” Before the other child can answer a hand lands on Nick’s shoulder. He follows the hand to a long purple sleeve and to a face with a wide smile._

_“You’re looking for your friend, right?” The Purple Man asks. “He’s just over this way; Bonnie wanted to say Happy Birthday personally, and the rest of the band is there, too. I can take you to see them if you like.”_

_“Will Captain Foxy be there?” Nick demands immediately._

_“How about Chica?” The swabbie interjects, bouncing excitedly. The smile creeps wider._

_“Yes, of course!” he answers, taking each child by the hand and leading them away. They move into the back of the pizzeria, ducking backstage. Nick is looking around, eyes sharp as he watches for any sign of his hero, and is still stunned when suddenly his hand is released. For a second he grasps empty air and he turns just in time to see the hand that led him so gently ball into a fist and slam into his friend’s temple. The blonde girl goes down like a sack of bricks and Nick has just enough time to gape in shock before those fists are swinging at him. There’s a burst of pain, and then darkness._

_He wakes up to the sound of whimpers and shouts of pain. He blinks blearily, eyes focusing, and realizes that his eye patch is down. He looks up anyway and screams in fear. Terry, his head bloody and hair matted with red, is laying on top of a strange metal form, the Purple Man standing over him with his wide grin._

_“You wanted to be like Bonnie so badly,” he smiles down at Terry. “Well, let’s finish the job!”_

_Something slams down on the metal suit and Terry screams. Purple Man waits for the scream to die down to pained whimpers before he does something. Another slam and Terry shrieks. Purple Man waits. Another slam, another shout of agony, until the only thing left open is the head of what Nick realizes is Bonnie._

_“No, please,” he chokes out just in time for the Purple Man to close the head with a clang. There’s another sound, like a watermelon being dropped from a height; a wet crunch that sends a shudder down Nick’s spine._

_“No!” He shouts, screaming until his throat is raw. He writhes, thrashing against his bonds, the noise spiking as one boot-clad foot comes down neatly in the middle of his leg. Something snaps. Nick leans over and throws up in agony. The boot lifts and Nick squirms backwards, tears in his one visible eye as he stares up in horror. The Purple Man, still wearing that manic grin, tilts his head thoughtfully._

_“You know,” he says thoughtfully. “You shouldn’t wear an eyepatch unless you need one.” Nick’s gaze drops. The Purple Man is turning something over in his hand, and the boy gets a glimpse of gleaming metal. Then there’s a swift movement and Nick screams as the screwdriver digs through the eye patch and into his eye. The Purple Man withdraws, surveying his handiwork. That smile dims a bit._

_“Oh, but now you don’t match; Foxy has a patch on the other eye,” the man nearly pouts before his grin returns. “I’ll just make you even!” He darts forward again and Nick can feel the screwdriver dig, feel his eyeball pop like a water-balloon, feel it digging deeper until it hits something too deep and everything shuts off like someone turned off a light--_

OoOoOoOoO

Jo jerks up, eyes slamming open as she shrieks and crawls backwards. Two eyes, in her head, not Nick’s; she’s fine, she’s here, she’s alive. The circle is broken, the skull ash, and the only evidence that anything happened at all is some more marker smudges and the panting night guard on the floor. She sits up shakily, swallowing hard as she fights back the nausea that rises in her throat. Her eyes pan around the office as she searches for something to distract her from the feeling of a screwdriver digging into her brain. She jumps at the sight of Bonnie. The purple rabbit is lurking outside of the window, staring inward, red eyes gazing directly at her. Jo offers the bunny a trembling smile and gets back up. She ignores him as she gets into her desk chair, the smile drooping into a worried frown at what is displayed on the screen. Where is Foxy?


	3. The Bots: in which things get immeasurably more complicated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, dudes, and thanks for sticking around! Here's an extra long chapter for your troubles. Standard warnings for gore, violence, and murder. Enjoy!

_Previously:_

_The purple rabbit is lurking outside of the window, staring inward, red eyes gazing directly at her. Jo offers the bunny a trembling smile and gets back up. She ignores him as she gets into her desk chair, the smile drooping into a worried frown at what is displayed on the screen. Where is Foxy?_

OoOoOoOoO

As his internal clock strikes midnight Foxy activates and shutters his optics. Something has changed. For the first time in decades his processors are his own; there is no other voice shrieking at him to be watchful, be wary, to kill. The fox blinks again. Nick. His passenger had been named Nick. What had happened to him? Bemused, Foxy jumps over the edge of the ship, landing lightly on the stage. He tilts his head, rolls his joints, tests to make sure that nothing else has changed. Everything seems to be in place, but the silence in his head is growing almost eerie. Ever since he was locked up the loneliness hadn’t seemed so bad; at least he had his passenger and the nights to roam the restaurant, though he had missed all the children. Now, however, it is far too quiet in the Cove with no one else around.

Where is everyone, and more importantly, have they been freed as he has?

The Captain grimaces, a shudder running down his spinal strut at the thought of the things he had done under the influence of his passenger, of the ghost. Seen through clear optics he is horrified at the memories of stuffing guard after guard into the mechanical suits located backstage. The fox pauses at the edge of the curtains, his remaining paw hovering near the break in the fabric before pulling back slightly. If the others haven’t yet been freed, or if this is a fluke, who knows how they’ll react to him; they may even become violent. Cautiously he pokes his head out into the main dining area, yellow eyes alert.

Freddy is still frozen on stage, one hand lifted and the other holding a fake microphone up to his mouth, while he barely catches a glimpse of Chica disappearing into the kitchens. Where is… Foxy jumps when he sees Bonnie standing nearby, lingering in the shadows that the curtains of the Cove cast in the small corner between the edge of the stage and the hall to the back of the restaurant.

“How’re ya doin, mate,” Foxy greets in a whisper. Bonnie’s mouth twists into what the fox long ago learned to interpret as a grin.

“Not too good, Cap’n,” is the response and Foxy feels a wave of relief that the rabbit at least seems to be in full possession of his sense. He jerks his head and Bonnie nods, getting the message. Both animatronics retreat behind the curtain. Bonnie sits on the edge of the stage, leaning back on his hands, while Foxy paces in the small gap between stage and curtain.

“What the heck be happening, rabbit?” He asks, fingering his hook anxiously. He is unable to keep still, pacing quietly up and down the small space with his threadbare tail swishing a handful of inches above the floor.

“I think you know already, Foxy,” Bonnie retorts reproachfully. “That old guard…”

“Purple Man,” the Pirate snarls, thinking dearly of ripping into that scoundrel with his hook.

Bonnie nods, face set in disgruntled agreement, before continuing, “Yes, him; he killed the children, and put their bodies inside us.” One hand goes to his torso unconsciously.

“Almost all of the bones were pulverized, but he did something to make sure that the skulls stayed in one piece,” the rabbit explains. “The ghosts of the kids…” He trails off and both animatronics shudder.

“Aye,” Foxy answers, voice quiet. “Those were some dark times, matey.” Bonnie nods.

“We’ve done some awful things,” he agrees. “But then this new night guard arrived.” He smiles ruefully, shaking his head. “She’s sharp as a tack, that one. Set up booby traps for us. You only activated one, but I seemed to run into them constantly. She’s got a mean streak, but it actually helped. I think the fall from one of her pranks knocked the skull loose. It gave me some control back; I was able to stay in charge long enough to walk to the guard booth and take off my face.” Foxy nods, knowing full well what that would show the guard.

“The next night I woke up and it was quiet,” Bonnie says, tone almost wondering. “It was so strange, after having him shouting for so long, to just be me.”

“What was his name?” Foxy questions gently.

“Terry,” the rabbit answers.

“Nick,” Foxy returns the favor and then gestures with his hook for the bunny to continue.

“I wandered back to the office, acting like normal just in case Freddy or Chica caught on, and saw her. She had his skull in a circle with marker colored everywhere, like some of the little kids just learning their letters. She was so still, almost frozen. I watched for a bit, and after a while she woke up. The skull turned into some kind of dust and circle disappeared and she freaked out for a bit. I don’t know what she did, but it looks like Terry is gone for good,” Bonnie finishes. Foxy slows to a stop and rubs his head gently as his processors whirr, trying to work through all of the information.

“So yer sayin that the new lass has a way of gettin rid of the little stowaways?” He asks. Bonnie nods. “Well that’s all there is to it then,” Foxy grins widely. “I’ve got to see this for myself!” Not bothering to check the camera, Foxy marches out from behind the curtains and makes it to the entrance of the hall before a purple form stops him.

“Wait!” Bonnie holds his hands up. “She’s never seen you any time but when you’re trying to kill her; I’ve talked to her before. Let me go first, see if she’s doing another ritual, and then you can see her.” The fox reluctantly lets his friend lead the way, lurking in the shadows as the rabbit slips down the hall, dodging four booby-traps along the way, and peers through the window into the dim office. His head appears around the frame of the thick plastic just in time to see the woman lurch back, breathing hard and eye wide. He observes as the guard pulls herself together, jumping again when she notices him, and then checking the cameras. The rabbit knows its time when she frowns at something on the screen. He looks over his shoulder at the fox.

“All right, come on,” he calls over his shoulder.

OoOoOoOoO

A voice from the hall makes Jo look up from her cameras just in time to see Bonnie shoved out of the way and a widely grinning face. She yelps and lurches backwards, knocking over her chair as she stares at the pirate at her window. The fox is smiling widely, eye patch flipped up and hand (and hook) pressed against the glass like a kid at a candy store. She can see both yellow-lit pupils look her up and down. He nods and takes a step back. Reaching up with his hook, the fox knocks on the plastic and gives the guard an expectant look. Bonnie grabs the other’s arm and glares at him while the woman blinks in shock. Surely the pirate isn’t suggesting what she thinks he is? Foxy rolls his eyes and pushes lightly at Bonnie to reach over and knock again on the metal door.

“Are you nuts?” Jo asks seriously, propping one hand on her hip and looking at Foxy through the plastic. “I’m not letting you in! You were trying to kill me last night!” The fox has the audacity to look at her reproachfully.

“Aye, but that weren’t me, lass; that were Nick,” he says firmly, surprising Jo.

“Well at least you can speak clearly,” she mutters before stepping closer to the glass. “Just because Nick was the one trying to hurt me doesn’t mean I can trust you,” Jo states, crossing her arms and looking evenly at the fox. “Besides, you can see how small the office is; we’d just be cramped. We can probably speak more easily with you out there anyway.” The fox frowns but nods, conceding her point, and allows Bonnie to move him so that he can see the guard as well.

“Sorry for him,” he apologizes, voice still slightly raspy with disuse but much clearer than before. Jo glances at the clock. It’s already three in the morning. Though she doesn’t like turning her back on two animatronics, Jo looks over her shoulder at the other window. Chica, eyes pitch black with only two silver dots staring out at her, glares through the plastic and shrieks. The guard smirks and turns back around only to blink in surprise. Bonnie and Foxy are staring at the chicken in horror, their mouths open and optics wide. Bonnie’s ears are flat against his head in alarm, while Foxy has his hands up in front of his torso defensively. Jo glances between the two sights and gives the two friendly animatronics a significant look as Chica wanders back to the kitchen.

“You see why I’m a little cautious?” She asks pointedly, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. The rabbit nods while Foxy shudders.

“Aye, I can’t say I blame ya, lass,” he replies, eyes still fixed on the opposite window.

“While you’re here, is there anything you two can tell me about what happened?” Jo questions curiously. The pair of robots exchange looks.

“I don’t know much,” Bonnie answers slowly. “Terry was the first to die.”

“And Nick not long after,” Foxy nods. Jo grimaces. It sounds like the two can’t tell her anything she doesn’t know already.

“It’s fine,” she waves them off. “I’ll just have to do some more research after my classes today.”

“Classes?” Bonnie tilts his head in confusion. “You don’t look young enough to still be in school.” Jo shoots the rabbit a look.

“I’m in college,” she explains as the rabbit tilts his head in confusion.

“What is college?” He asks.

“It’s another school you go to when you finish regular school to teach you how to do a special job,” Josephine informs the robot. She’s a little confused, but then she considers. They’re animatronics built to entertain children; why would they need to know what college is? The two robots, oblivious to her inner musings, nod in understanding.

“So what are ye learning lass?” Foxy questions, looking honestly curious. “Are ye learnin how ta sail a ship? Or make pizza?” Jo laughs a little, caught off guard by the innocent inquiry.

“No, Foxy,” she answers, a bemused smile on her face. “I’m learning how to be a mechanic; how to work with and repair machines, kind of like you guys.” Both animatronics look extremely interested.

“So ya can go to school and learn how to fix things?” Foxy clarifies.

“Cool,” Bonnie nods admiringly. Jo blinks in slight surprise and feels her smile widening despite herself. It’s kind of nice; these two, for all purposes, have just met her, yet it doesn’t even occur to them to doubt that she can do whatever she says she can. She glances at the clock again. It’s almost four. Surprisingly enough the robots are easy to talk to, and Jo spends the remaining two hours chatting through the thick plastic with them on every topic under the sun. They are, unsurprisingly, curious about the outside world, and she’s happy to share what harmless details she knows. The chiming of the grandfather clock on her phone takes them all by surprise. Foxy sighs regretfully.

“Ah well, time’s up,” he grumbles. “I’ll see ya tomorrow, lass.”

He walks off down the hall, Bonnie trailing after with a wave good bye of his own, and when Jo checks the cameras everyone is in their proper positions. As she gathers her stuff, feeling the weight of her many night shifts pulling on her eye lids, Jo stretches and allows herself to think wistfully of the day when she clears out the last of the demonic children. Maybe all four of the animatronics will be like that: calm, curious, and fun to talk with. She scoffs at herself. She’s thinking a little too far ahead; first she has to deal with Chica and Freddy. By pure chance she’s dealt with the two children who were slain first, Nick and Terry. Something tells her that the two children who were able to spend more time with the Purple Man won’t be as easy. Exhausted, Jo drops her bag by the bed when she gets back to her small apartment and falls into a deep sleep, barely pausing to kick off her shoes.

OoOoOoOoO

_It’s night, and she’s sitting at her post staring down at the cameras with wide eyes, scared to blink. The stage, all three band members in place, gleams out at her from the screen. Her eyes burn and ache, the pain spiking like someone is stabbing them. Finally she can take it no longer and blinks._

_All the animatronics are gone, and when she flicks to Pirate’s Cove the curtains are wide open, the space beyond empty. She pales and lunges back for the door buttons. She hits them, and for a split second she thinks she’s safe. The metal panels start to slide down an inch at a time, the pace agonizingly slow, and Jo stares in horror as the left door is stopped, its descent halted easily by a large, purple hand. Her jaw drops and she gapes as the same thing happens to the right door. Both sheets of metal are forced back upward with a screech of rending metal and the four animatronics stomp into the office. Each is now a bright shade of deep purple and wears a sickening, gleaming white grin from ear to ear. Their eyes are as white as their teeth and just as blank. Jo shrinks back against the wall, feeling her feet slip on discarded papers and the clammy cement press into her back._

_“No,” she begs as her legs give way, leaving her scrambling backwards on her hands, tearing her palms bloody against the floor as she tries to get away, tries to somehow go through the wall and escape to the alley outside. Her plea goes unanswered and hands of fabric-covered-metal wrap around her arms and legs in an inescapable grip. Jo writhes in panic as she’s dragged from her office, down the hall, across the dining area, and up onto the stage. Then they’re backstage. She’s slammed down onto the table, the one she sees on camera, the one always covered in spare parts. Hands hold her still and all she can do is beg wordlessly as she wriggles, helpless. A face appears above her. It’s a man, a human, though it looks like he’s dunked his head in a vat of violet paint and his grin could have been stolen from a shark._

_“Well now little one,” he says, voice as sweet as honey and deadly as nightshade. “Who is your favorite character? Foxy? Or maybe Bonnie? How about Chica, or even Freddy himself?” Jo sobs, frantically thrashing as she tries to escape, to get away from the monster in front of her. The Purple Man’s smile widens. “Ah,” he says as though she’s given him an idea._

_“I know just what you want. You don’t want to be any of them, you want to be something new! And I’ve got just the thing!” He backs away, and then returns, holding a piece of paper up for her inspection. It’s a design for a robotic cat, the fur a violent shade of pink with a bright red ribbon around one ear. A cheery purple dress with a fluffy poodle skirt covers much of the robotic frame, and in one hand the monstrosity is clutching what appears to be a wrench. The Purple Man looks eagerly from her to the drawing as if gauging her reaction. Jo’s eyes are wide with horror._

_“Do you like it? I’ve been thinking of naming her Candy, or maybe Cindy,” Purple Man chatters happily before tossing the sketch over his shoulder. “But that doesn’t matter! Right now it’s time for your makeover!” His grin widens an extra degree and Josephine screams as she feels the first weight clamp around her right foot. Then then left; then her right shin, then her left, her thighs, her hips, her stomach. Her hands are the worst, squeezed and pricked until they burst one finger at a time until she is sobbing from the agony of it, her wriggling ceasing as she tries to hold still and keep the pain at bay._

_“You’re doing so well,” the Purple Man coos to her as he clamps the last section of metal around her upper chest and shoulders. Jo screams as metal spears through her, pierces her heart, sending a fresh jolt of pain through her with every beat._

_“Just one more piece to go!” And then he’s approaching her with a grinning pink cat head in his hands. Somehow she’s no longer on the table but standing, and no matter how much she begs he opens the head, the helm splitting into two jaws like a bear trap, and closes it on her. Everything hurts, and Jo cries as she feels her teeth pop out of place, realizes that her eyes have burst. She blinks, the salt water of tears leaving stinging trails down her ruined flesh, and looks up. The grinning cat looks back at her from a full length mirror, her eyes peering out of the animatronic ones. Purple Man walks up and drapes an arm across her shoulders and there is nothing Jo can do to stop him. She is as frozen stiff as any of the robots are during the day._

_“I’ve got it!” Purple Man cheers. “I’ll call you Carrie the Kitty!” And Jo blinks for the final time just to see her eyes turn from her human to hazel to pitch black, the only light emanating from two silver dots in the center._

OoOoOoOoO

Jo lurches upright with a scream, hair a mess and her eyes wide with terror from her nightmare. Her tank-top is sticky with sweat, and with a gasped curse she stumbles from her bed to stand, shivering, in the middle of her bedroom. After taking a moment to reassure herself that yes, that was a dream, the young woman curses again and stomps through her routine, dressing and making sure that her books are in her bag before she takes off for her first class. Of course waking up in a cold sweat and not bothering to check the time is a good way to end up nearly an hour early, so Jo sits on the steps to the building and tries not to fall asleep in the sunlight. Thankfully the arrival of her classmates wakes her from her light doze and Jo sits proudly through the lecture, enduring the envious looks and glares from the men around her. She is the only woman in the room, but that doesn’t matter. She’s always wanted to work with machines, and she isn’t going to let a few men get in her way. When the dusty old professor, who has worked so long at the college that he taught almost everyone’s father, finally releases them for the day Jo is the first out of the room. She spends the rest of the afternoon pouring over old newspapers in the library, the sunlight not nearly as pleasant now as it makes her hair stick to her forehead and the dust of the old books cling to her hands. The burning light is almost gone from the sky by the time she finds it.

“ _Murderer Caught_ ,” she reads out quietly, eyes fixed on the photo that accompanies the headline. It’s him; the man from her nightmare, from her visions of the deaths, the man who killed those kids. The face grins out at her from the ancient paper as if in confirmation. _It’s me!_ A shudder runs down Jo’s spine as she folds the paper over so that the photo is out of sight and reads the article.

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, already burdened with a bad reputation after the incident at their other location, suffers a nearly fatal blow when what had been a case of four missing children became a quadruple murder. Terry Lapin, Nicholas Wilde, Catherine Anas, and Frederick Ursine all went missing while attending Terry’s eighth birthday party. Search efforts were in vain until young Timothy Midas came forward and reported what he saw to the police. He claimed to have seen all four of the children with security guard Vincent Afton. When confronted, Mr. Afton gleefully detailed to both reporters and the police his experience luring all four of the children to the back of the pizzeria, where he murdered them. When questioned on how he disposed of the bodies, however, Mr. Afton remained silent but for his laughter. He escaped police custody earlier today, and is considered at large and dangerous. Will this be the final blow that finishes off Freddy Fazbear’s? Only time will tell.

Jo puts down the article and closes her eyes, taking deep breaths as she battles to keep her composure. Four children; Nick, Terry, Catherine, and Frederick, all murdered by that monster, and the police let him escape. Her fists shake in some strange combination of terror and rage; the article isn’t that old, and Stone could still be out there, but she’s absolutely furious that he was allowed to roam free in the first place. Jo opens her eyes, checking her watch out of habit, and grimaces. She’s going to be a little late tonight, meaning ten o’clock rather than nine, so she gathers her things and leaves with a quick good-bye to the librarian. A quick stop at the apartment for her uniform and she’s off.

She approaches the Pizzeria, unused to it being empty when she arrives, and unlocks the door. She wastes no time, feeling the ticking of the clock like a weight on her back, and nearly jogs up to the stage where Freddy and Chica are posed. She bites her lip in contemplation. The recording said that Freddy was the most dangerous but with her doors she’s got no need to worry, and she’s seen more of Chica these past couple of nights. Mind made up it only takes a few flicks of her knife before she can carefully remove the front part of the chicken’s face to reach the skull inside. It is small and wedged in place just like the others, though getting it out around the beak of the animatronic is surprisingly difficult.

Eventually she manages it and sticks the chicken’s face back into position with a little glue before she retreats to her office. She fixes the doors, not even bothering to pull up the camera now that she doesn’t have to keep an eye on Foxy, and begins the now familiar ritual of salt, runes, and candles. Setting the tiny skull in position, Jo takes a deep breath. She’s already gotten rid of Terry and Nick, so who will this be; Catherine, Frederick, or Timothy? There’s only one way to find out. Josephine flicks open the lighter and sets the candle aflame as she settles into a more comfortable position. In an increasingly familiar fashion the woman has just enough time to see the skull glowing the same yellow as an old bruise before-

OoOoOoOoO

_She’s chowing down on a piece of her favorite pizza, blonde pigtails bobbing with her every movement as she looks around her favorite place in the world. There’s food everywhere: candy from the machines and the goody-bags, pizza with all kinds of stuff on top, and of course cake! Birthday cake for Terry, one of her best friends. He hangs out with her even if she is a girl, and even if she can’t always run as fast as the rest of their friends._

_Catherine, or Katie as everyone else calls her, smiles at the thought and grabs another piece of pizza as she looks around. Maybe Terry is still hungry and wants some pizza, too? She frowns. She can’t see Terry anywhere! Did he go to the bathroom? Across the room she can see Nick standing on one of the chairs, eyepatch lifted as he looks around. Katie leaps down from her chair and makes her way over. Nick can be a meanie, but he and Terry are best-est friends; maybe he knows where the birthday boy is!_

_“What’cha doin’ Nick?” She asks curiously. Is he playing pirate captain again?_

_“It’s Captain Nick to you, swabbie!” Yes, yes he is. “And I’m looking for First Mate Terry. Have you seen him?”_

_Katie frowns. He hasn’t seen Terry either? Where did he go? She’s about to answer when a grown up comes around her ginger friend. He’s tall, and purple, with a wide white smile._

_“You’re looking for your friend, right?” He asks, grin growing a little wider. “He’s just over this way; Bonnie wanted to say Happy Birthday personally, and the rest of the band is there, too. I can take you to see them if you like.” Katie thinks this over as Nick asks something. She’s never heard of the band telling anyone Happy Birthday is person before! This could be really cool._

_“How about Chica?” She questions. The chicken is her favorite character; Chica loves pizza as much as she does! The man smiles even wider and answers yes, holding out a hand to take hers. Katie only hesitates for a second. Her parents have told her about going places with strangers, but this is just to go see Chica. Besides, this man has a badge, just like the police men her mom has told her to go to if she ever needs help, so he must be a good guy!_

_The girl takes his hand happily, smiling right up until a balled fist strikes her across the face. She’s dazed, vision spinning crazily as she and Nick are dragged through the halls back to another room. Something closes around her wrist, metal cold against her skin, and she blinks. Everything feels strange, like her head is wrapped in cotton, but she can see Nick lying down near her. She tries to speak, to make some sound, but soon the darkness at the edge of her sight can’t be ignored._

_She blinks slowly, and when her eyes open Terry is there, lying on the table. Nick is awake and screaming as the Purple Man does something to make Terry shriek. She looks around. Freddy is chained to something across the room, pulling on the cuff around his wrist hard enough to draw blood, and he’s saying something, yelling, pleading. Terry’s screaming stops, and Katie crawls backwards as Purple Man steps over to Nick. He breaks Nick’s leg; she can hear the bone snap. Then he takes a screwdriver and stabs her friend in the face. Katie lunges forward, crying, trying to stop him, but the cuff around her wrist stops her before she can get close enough to do anything._

_Nick is screaming again and the Purple Man stabs his other eye and he stops. Everything is quiet but for her sobs and Freddy’s yelling. He’s shouting now, using bad words like her parent’s told her never to use, howling angry words at the Purple Man. The killer turns to Freddy for a moment, considering him, before his smile widens an extra degree and he faces Katie._

_“Hello there,” he says, voice almost gentle. “You were the one eating all of that pizza, right? You liked Chica; and no wonder!”_

_His tone is almost teasing as he pokes her gently in the stomach with the bloody end of a screwdriver. She whimpers but doesn’t dare move, staring up at the man with tear filled eyes._

_“You ate a lot of pizza today,” Purple man continues thoughtfully and Katie sobs with relief when he puts the screwdriver down on the floor. “Let’s see how much.”_

_Her relief vanishes in a wave of agony when the Purple Man pulls a knife from the pocket of his pants, flicking it open, and slash at her stomach. Blood pours from the wound as Katie cries but the man frowns._

_“No, that’s not enough!” He decides. The girl is helpless to resist as he pulls up the edge of her shirt and cuts her again, the knife sinking deeper. Something dark grey and covered in blood slips out of the cut and the man smiles._

_“Ah, there we are,” he coos at the grey thing. He stabs it. Just before she gives into the black at the edge of her vision, Katie sees something come out of the grey thing. It looks like a pepperoni._

OoOoOoOoO

Freddy wakes up at midnight, his optics blinking open and jaw working as one paw tightens around the microphone. Everyone else is gone.

 _How dare they leave him again! Don’t let them leave, where did they go, are they hiding?_ Freddy wanders down the hall, keeping an eye on the cameras. None of the recording lights are lit; they’re off, not even activated. What is this guard thinking? Don’t they know they’re in danger?

 _Serves them right; they’ll just go down even easier. Easier to rip, to tear, to shove…_ He has wandered near to the Cove when he hears it. Whispering. With all the stealth he can muster, Freddy peers through the gap in the curtains. There they are! Foxy, Bonnie, and Chica are all on stage, talking quietly, their frames bent with anxiety. Freddy blinks.

 _No! They’re gone, all three of them! Gone, gone, GONE! He is ALONE! AGAIN! Alone, they left him! It’s all the guard’s fault, that Purple Man. He will pay. Forget the rules! He has to PAY!_ With a roar of fury Freddy turns, marching down the hall with feet the size of frying pans and a rage not even his huge animatronic body can contain. He passes the kitchen and reaches the window. Through it he can see _them._ A purple figure, down on the floor in front of something glowing yellow. Freddy scowls, teeth gritted in a growl of rage. He balls one hand into a fist and slams it into the plastic. The clear substance shudders, but does not give way. Freddy does it again, and again, shaking the wall and the window in its frame until there is a sharp crack.

There, in the center of the pane, is a small split in the plastic.

With a pleased rumble of triumph Freddy renews his attack, focusing each strike on the crack. Finally, with one last blow, the window shatters, shards of plastic flying in every direction. The bear howls his triumph as he slaps one heavy paw against the inside wall. Just as his hand finds the door switch the purple form twitches and moves. Freddy grins manically. Finally, after so long, _he’s got him!_

OoOoOoOoO

Jo wakes up more slowly than before, blinking open her eyes. Why is she lying on the floor? Her cheek is pressed to the cold cement, like she crumpled to the ground instead of staying upright as usual, and there’s something in her hair. She looks up and feels adrenaline flood her systems as she absorbs what she’s seeing. An enormous brown-furred hand is thrust through the right hand window, the plastic from the broken pane scattered about like so much confetti, and as she watches the paw-like hand fumbles towards the switch. Scrambling backwards across the floor, Jo barely has time to get to her feet before the door slides open and she’s confronted with the gleefully snarling form of Freddy Fazbear himself.

Her mind whirls frantically, ideas considered and rejected even as the guard curses and reaches behind her. With one quick swipe she wrenches the wires connecting the door switch to the car battery free, sliding it open, and dives back through the opening even as the bear reaches for her with paws larger than her head. _Well,_ Jo considers somewhat hysterically as she lunges down the empty hallway towards the dining room, barely having the presence of mind to dodge her own booby traps. Freddy growls his fury as he is slowed by the childish pranks.

 _If they want to prove they’re trustworthy, this is the perfect opportunity!_ With that thought ringing through her mind, Jo darts behind the curtains to Pirate Cove while Freddy is still barreling down the hall. The three animatronics on stage jump slightly at her sudden arrival, optics wide. She looks a sight: her normally neat hair is frizzy and in a disarray, shiny with shards of plastic, and her own eyes are alight with fear even as a terrified expression crosses her face.

“Hide me,” she hisses, voice quiet despite her panic. Foxy barely has to think as he darts forward and wraps his hands around the guard’s torso, hauling her bodily with him as he turns back to the ‘ship’. The pirate fox thrusts the woman into the cargo hold of the fake ship, concealing her behind the façade of plastic and plywood, and faces the entrance.

“Places!” Foxy shouts at the other two. In another snap all three of the animatronics go lifeless, optics glassy and frames as stiff as during the daylight hours. Just as the gleam fades from Bonnie’s eyes the curtains fly open to reveal an enraged Freddy Fazbear, optics shining a hostile silver in the relative dimness of the stage.

“Where is she?” He rumbles menacingly, voice a deep bass that shakes the floor under Jo’s feet. She crouches in the fake ship, back pressed to stage, laid flat on the floor to avoid behind see through any of the portholes that line the faux front. She hardly dares to breath. Freddy glares at the other three, striding onto the stage. He’s the tallest of the four animatronics, and his anger lends him a force even greater than usual. Lowering his face to peer directly into Bonnie’s, he locks optics with the rabbit and roars, watching for any kind of reaction. There is none. The other three remain as lifeless as they were when he came. With a snort of derision, Freddy cuffs the side of Foxy’s head, watching the other crumple to the floor with a clatter and an expression of total disdain.

“Pathetic,” he spits before leaving, his feet slamming against the floor as he dismounts the stage. The leader of the band moves on, continuing his search. That guard can’t have gone far; he’ll have them before the night ends! As soon as the reverberations of Freddy’s footsteps have faded the animatronics revive. Foxy lets out a pained groan, shoving himself up off the stage, as Bonnie helps him to his feet. The rabbit grunts as Foxy’s leg collapses, forcing him to take the other’s full weight.

“Let me down, let me down,” the pirate orders quickly. Bonnie obeys, settling him back to the stage as Chica hovers nervously.

“Are you alright?” She asks anxiously. Now that she isn’t shrieking her head off Chica has a pleasant, if high pitched, voice.

“I’m fine, lass; go check on the guard,” Foxy reassures her. Once the chicken has turned away he allows himself a pained grimace. One of his ears has been knocked out of joint, sending painful error messages every time he moves, and the fall has definitely knocked something loose in one of his legs. The bright yellow animatronic opens the door on the fake ship and peers through. Jo is laying there, curled into a ball with her knees clutched to her chest. Her eyes are wide and wet with terrified tears even as she forces herself up to kneel.

“I’m fine,” she rasps, voice barely above a whisper as she crawls out from the child-sized attraction. Jo stumbles as she gets to her feet, spreading her arms for balance. Instantly Chica reaches out to steady her, causing the guard to shy away, still jumpy.

“Sorry,” she whispers. Jo wipes the tears from her eyes and tries to subtly take a few deep breathes. She observes the animatronics carefully. Chica has backed off, looking apologetic and pulling her hands close to her torso. Bonnie is still crouched by Foxy, who is inspecting the dented section of his right leg. Through the torn faux fur mechanics glitter dimly in the low light. Feeling a little more in control, Jo blinks up at Chica.

“What happened?” She asks quietly.

“Freddy came in and got mad, so he knocked Foxy down,” the chicken explains. Jo frowns. She hadn’t thought that Freddy would actually take his anger out on the other robots; judging by Foxy and Bonnie, they all seem to tolerate each other at the very least.

“Did Foxy get hurt?” She questions carefully. Chica nods sadly.

Jo bites her lip, considering her next move, and finally says, “I’m actually in training as a robot doctor. I could take a look at Foxy and see if I can make him feel better if you want.” The chicken grins down at the human before grabbing her arm and hauling her over to the other two animatronics.

“Guys! The nice lady is a robot doctor! She can help,” she cheerfully explains, shoving the guard towards Bonnie and Foxy. Jo stumbles and flails to reclaim her balance, nearly landing on top of Foxy before stabilizing. Bonnie looks a bit suspicious.

“Remember how I said I was going to college to be a mechanic? I might be able to help,” Jo quickly explains. Foxy thinks for a moment, but nods, leaning back slightly and wincing as his ear tilts and squeaks. Bonnie also scoots backwards to give the woman room but stays well within arm’s reach. Swallowing nervously, Jo goes down on one knee to inspect the robotic joint in front of her. It looks like the fall has knocked a piece of the ragged fur into the hinge, keeping it from working properly. It also is rusted from years of disrepair, the working parts shining bright silver against the rest of the dull joint.

“I’m just going to pull this out,” she warns the fox, eyeing him warily. When she gets a nod of assent the woman reaches in. Wrapping her fingers around the errant scrap of fabric, Jo takes a deep breath before yanking it free. Foxy grunts as the scrap is wrenched out but gives no other sign of discomfort. He bends his leg, testing the bend, before carefully getting to his feet. Bonnie shadows his every move, ready to leap into action the moment his friend shows signs of collapsing. Foxy grins wolfishly at the guard.

“Good job lass,” he thanks, clapping one hand to her shoulder. Then he grimaces as his ear shifts again.

“There’s just one more thing,” his grin shifts to something a little more pleading. “Could ya take a look at mah ear? It’s squeaking and aching something awful.” Jo nods and Foxy bends over, presenting his head to her. The guard carefully manipulates the ear, tilting it just slightly.

“This may hurt,” she warns just before giving it a sharp tug to the left. The click of the ear sliding back into place is drowned out by Foxy’s brief yelp of pain. Instantly Bonnie springs forward, wrapping one arm around Jo and pulling her away from Foxy even as he demands to know what happened. The fox rolls his eyes.

“Calm down, matey; the girl just surprised me, that’s all. Let her go, now, you’ll give the poor lass a heart attack,” he explains, looking a bit alarmed as his optics drop the woman still in Bonnie’s hand. The rabbit looks down at the guard and sees that his friend is right; the guard looks almost ready to faint from where she dangles a foot above the floor. Her face is pale as milk, and when he gently lowers her she takes a hasty step back and nearly runs into Chica.

“Sorry,” he apologizes gruffly.

“It’s fine,” she squeaks, rubbing at her arm. “Sorry for bringing him here; I didn’t think he’d hurt you guys.”

“It’ll be fine,” Foxy waves it off before looking unsure. “That is, if ya intend to free him like ya did us.” Jo nods firmly as she shakes off the last of her fear. A warm kernel of anger takes the place of her terror, and the guard scowls.

“That is one little brat who needs a spanking,” she growls. Down the hall, still sitting on the desk of the security office, the sound of a grandfather clock chimes lowly. All three of the animatronics stiffen.

“Morning,” Foxy rasps even as Bonnie and Chica march out of the Cove and onto the main stage. Jo peers through the curtains as Freddy himself stalks out from the opposite hallway, a furious expression on his face, and takes his position. In a blink the fearsome glower transforms into a jolly look designed to cheer children. Jo shudders at the dichotomy before turning to Foxy. The pirate gives her a nod before freezing in place. The pizzeria is silent once more. Jo slips out from between the curtains, closing them behind her, and goes to her office. She darts into the supply closet for a broom on the way. Being in the room sends waves of panic down her spine, and the woman retreats quickly. Sweeping up the shattered plastic is the work of only a few minutes, and then Jo gathers her things and takes off before someone can show up and question her about the mess.


	4. The End: in which there is more blood and gore before things are resolved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, my dudes. Just a quick update to finish up this story and set up for the sequel I have planned, which will come about as slowly as this one because Real Life is a thing. A reminder: at this point, absolutely everything is AU of the actual games, only vaguely borrowing from the premise of the FNAF series and the character designs I find on the internet. I hope you enjoy, and the fist chapter of the sequel should be up soon!

_Previously:_

_The pizzeria is silent once more. Jo slips out from between the curtains, closing them behind her, and goes to her office. She darts into the supply closet for a broom on the way. Being in the room sends waves of panic down her spine, and the woman retreats quickly. Sweeping up the shattered plastic is the work of only a few minutes, and then Jo gathers her things and takes off before someone can show up and question her about the mess._

OoOoOoOoO

The day manager scowls at the shards of plastic stubbornly sticking in the window frame. This had never happened before; what had that night guard been doing? Did someone try to break in? He’ll call her later to make sure she’s okay, but if she doesn’t have a good explanation this is coming out of her paycheck! He retreats to his office, already pulling up the woman’s file. Punching in the number, he waits patiently for the phone to be picked up. After a moment a sleepy voice answers.

“Hello? Yes, this is the day manager at Freddy Fazbear’s. What happened with the security window? Are you alright?” He listens for a moment.

“A malfunction? In the animatronics? Ah, something must have activated that old free-roaming programing. Yes, and then some of the pre-programmed motions sent it into the window. That does make sense; I’m sorry for accusing you.” The man paces his office, running a hand through his hair and eyes wandering. He pauses, an idea occurring to him as he spots a note added to the guard’s file.

“Actually…” He begins thoughtfully. “You said you were in training to be an engineer, correct? Would you be willing to take a look at Freddy and the others? To make sure it doesn’t happen again?” The man smiles as he receives a positive response.

“Excellent! We’ll pay you for your time, of course; I’ll add it to your check at the end of the week. Okay, have a good day!” The day manager smiles as he hangs up. This is wonderful! He’s hired a guard and a technician all in one! Won’t the night manager be pleased about this!

OoOoOoOoO

The night manager scowls as he crumples the note in his fist. That bumbling idiot; he’s gone and hired someone to go poking around in the animatronics! He’ll be discovered for sure! He pinches the bridge of his nose and grimaces. He can still salvage this; the one thing that fool did right was to make the technician the night guard. This way no one will be surprised if she has an unfortunate ‘accident’. All he has to do is come back during her shift and make sure of it. She’ll die, he’ll hire a new guard, and everything will go back to the way it was. The manager leans back in his chair and sighs deeply. Everything will be fine.

OoOoOoOoO

Jo arrives at nine o’clock, ready for the last ritual. If all goes well, she won’t have to do this again and all of the spirits will be free. Shouldering her bag, the guard hops up onto the stage and quickly amputates Freddy’s face. The skull is wedged tightly inside the animatronic head and seems to be glaring out at her. Jo scowls back.

“You’re going down,” she mutters, wrapping her fingers through the eye sockets and prying it free. Once the bone is wrenched free she sloppily glues Freddy’s face back into position and goes to her office. The shattered window from last night has already been replaced by a thick sheet of plywood, and if she were still in danger Jo would curse them for taking away her line of sight into the right hallway. She kneels on the floor, drawing the circle, and hesitates. She’s going to be fighting the last spirit tonight, which means, theoretically, none of the animatronics should be trying to kill her. She should be okay to leave the doors open, even if something inside her squirms in fear at the thought. Jo shakes off the feeling and lowers both doors before setting up the car battery. Non-hostile or not, she definitely doesn’t want to be disturbed. The guard settles into position and lights the candle, bracing herself as the skull begins to gleam with a dull brown glow.

OoOoOoOoO

_He’s a little nervous, standing near the stage, but he can’t find any of his friends. Where are they? Are they hiding? The boy glances around and is about to climb on stage to look for them when a heavy hand lands on his shoulder. He looks up. Wide white smile, dark purple uniform, a shiny patch of gold glinting on a chest._

_“Are you Nick and Terry’s friend?” The smiling man asks lightly. Freddy nods, curly brown hair bobbing with the motion. “They’re just back this way; Bonnie and the others wanted to say Happy Birthday personally, and their other friend, Katie? Got a stomach ache, so Chica was comforting her. Would you like to go see them?” Freddy nods, relieved. Of course Katie would a tummy-ache with all the pizza around, and Terry and Nick would leap at the chance to meet their heroes. The smiling man takes his hand and leads him away, through the halls of the pizzeria._

_“Where are we going?” He asks quietly as they move away from the music and colors of the party and over to a much darker area._

_“To see your friends,” the smiling man answers cheerfully as he opens a door. Freddy gasps. Nick is chained up next to Katie by the wall, surrounded by parts of robots. Before Freddy can say anything the man shoves him into the room with a hand tangled in his hair, yanking him harshly and slamming the door behind him. The boy shouts and twists, trying to free himself, but gets chained to the wall across the room from Nick and Katie. The smiling man grins down at him._

_“I’ll be right back,” he announces, ducking out of the room. He pokes his head back in to continue, “I just need our guest of honor!” The Purple Man quietly shuts the door, leaving Freddy to thrash against the cuff. He pulls on it one more time and looks at his friends._

_“Nick! NICK!” He yells. The boy stirs feebly, but doesn’t wake up. Freddy tries again, but freezes when the door opens. The smiling man strolls in, dragging something behind him, and Freddy lets out a sob when he sees. It’s Terry, bloody and beaten, with only a ragged hole where his ear should be._

_“What did you do to him you monster?!” He demands, rattling his handcuff. “Let him go! What do you want to do with us?” Dropping Terry into the corner in an unmoving pile, the Purple Man grins down at Freddy as he starts pulling things from the shelves and arranging them on the table in the middle of the room._

_“I’m just doing you a favor,” he tilts his head at the child. “You all love them so much, and this way you’ll never be alone again!” Freddy frowns in confusion before his eyes widen as he puts the pieces together._

_“No,” he whispers. “No, no, don’t do it, that’s not nice, you’re gonna hurt him, no!” But nothing works as the Purple Man picks up Terry and lays him on the table on top of the robotic shell. The way he places the child on the table is almost delicate. He takes a step back, observing his handiwork. Then, with a brutal force that clashes with his earlier control, slams one of the sections closed. Freddy and Terry scream in unison, one in rage and one in pain, as the man moves around the table slamming sections of suit closed. When all that’s left open is the head the man leans in and whispers something to Terry before shutting it with a bang._

_One voice falls silent._

_Freddy looks over and sees that Nick is awake and screaming, pleading. The man stalks over and stomps on Nick’s leg, breaking it with a sharp crack. Then he reaches forward with a screwdriver and pokes out Nick’s eyes, one after the other. And then Katie is sliced open from shoulder to hip, all while Freddy screams with anger and fury._

_“No!” He screams as the light fades from Katie’s eyes. He falls limp in his cuff, slumping to the floor with tears running down his face._

_“Why,” he asks in a whisper, lifting blue eyes to glare up at the smiling, gore-streaked man. “Why are you doing this? Why us?” The smiles fades, just a hair, and suddenly the man is down on one knee, face inches from Freddy’s. The boy doesn’t flinch._

_“Because,” the man says. “IT WAS FUN.”_

_With that declaration he turns from Freddy and drags the Bonnie robot from the table. It crunches and squelches as he sets it to the side, standing it at attention in the corner, and begins to assemble another. Freddy can only watch as Nick is enclosed in a Foxy suit, with Katie disappearing into a model of Chica, their bodies vanishing under plastic and metal. When all three of his friends are gone, encased in the bodies of the animatronics they had loved so much._

_“And now,” the Purple Man grins as one more suit is hauled onto the table and carefully arranged. He turns to the boy with a smile on his face. That’s all Freddy can see: Two wide, white shining eyes above a grotesquely wide smile gleaming against the dark silhouette of the uniform. “It’s your turn.”_

_Freddy thrashes, snarling like a bear as he fights against the larger man. There’s a glint, a flash of pain at his throat, and the boy chokes. Blood rises in his throat, runs down his chin and shirt, and he can’t speak. He can barely breathe._

_“Now, now,” the man chides gently as he picks Freddy up and lays him on the costume. “Only the children should get to hear your singing. At least once you’re finished, that is. But for now…” The man trails off as he leans down and grins right in the choking boy’s face._

_“Sing for me, Fredbear.” With that he slams the head of the suit shut and everything is dark and pain and—_

OoOoOoOoO

Freddy blinks his optics slowly, waking up for the first time in a long time, and takes in the three anxious faces looking up at him. Bonnie, Foxy, Chica… His friends. He closes his eyes for a moment, grateful that they are here, and then opens them again.

“What happened,” he rumbles lowly, straightening up and adjusting his hat. All three slump with relief at the question even as Bonnie grimaces.

“How much do you remember?” He asks in return, ears twitching nervously. The bear considers.

“Freddy, the child, he was murdered. He was so angry…” He shudders. “I couldn’t control myself, I faded when he took over.” Freddy blinks and looks down at Bonnie. “What did I do?” The rabbit haltingly explains everything, from their passenger’s murdering of the night guards to their sudden freedom, all because of this woman.

“What’s her name?” Freddy asks when the tale is done, humbled by the bravery of the guard and curious about the one to finally release them and the children from the chains that bound them. Before Bonnie can answer, however, his ears perk up and the rabbit swivels.

“Someone’s coming,” he says, surprised. Just as he would have years ago, when they were still allowed to play with the children, Freddy barks, “Places!” They all obey, Chica and Bonnie moving to their positions and Foxy dashing off to the Cove. Only the tip of the pirate animatronic’s nose pokes out as he keeps an eye on the situation. The other three have a clear view as a dark figure fiddles with the lock of the glass double doors before darting inside and locking them behind him. He straightens, a tall man with broad shoulders and a gut to match, thinning dark hair over a scowling face with beady eyes. He checks his watch and eyes the animatronics thoughtfully.

“What the hell is so special about this one bitch?” He wonders aloud. “You kill every guard I can throw at you and yet this one stupid girl comes and you all act like fucking wimps.” He scoffs and puts a hand to his belt, removing a plain knife from its sheath at his belt.

“I guess if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.” He flips the knife with a casual ease, sending the foot-long blade spinning end-over-end to land handle first in his meaty palm. The man starts off down the hall, flipping the knife as he goes, and vanishes. Freddy, Bonnie and Chica exchange looks as Foxy steps out from his curtains.

“What is that man doing?” Chica asks, confused.

“He’s gonna hurt the lass,” Foxy answers with a snarl. Bonnie frowns.

“Well,” Freddy rumbles. “That kind of thing isn’t allowed at Freddy Fazbear’s. How about we put a stop to it?”

OoOoOoOoOoO

The night manager tosses the knife from hand to hand as he moves towards the security office, still trying to figure out why those robotic freaks haven’t killed this one before he had to take matters into his own hands. With a sigh of regret for his wasted night off, the man stalks down the hall. The doors are closed, which is expected, but there is something odd going on inside. The man frowns, pressing against the wall and leaning over to peer into the dimly lit office. His eyes widen. The woman is sitting inside some kind of circle with a fucking skull across from her glowing a murky brown.

What the hell is she doing? Witchcraft? Is that why the robots haven’t been killing her? Where did she get the skull? The manager frowns. It doesn’t matter; she still has to disappear before she finds the bodies in the robots, and if they won’t do it he’ll take care of her himself. Suddenly there’s a flash of light and the woman slumps from her rigid position as the skull in front of her crumbles to dust. The manager waits for a moment, debating, and then, when she sits back up again, he steps forward to knock on the metal door.

OoOoOoOoO

Jo winces as she sits up, head still spinning. Freddy hadn’t gone quietly; he had fought both her and the Purple Man to the bitter end, and all that rage and fear is still pounding through her skull. A glance across the circle makes her slump with relief at the familiar sight of bone dust. She sits up, and jumps at the knock on the door. Jo turns to look up through the window and frowns in confusion at seeing, not one of the animatronics, but a man standing there waving at her through the thick plastic window.

“Who are you?” She asks coolly as she gets to her feet. They hadn’t provided her with a weapon when she came, but a police baton bought at an old surplus store had been tucked into her bag since her second night here. If she could just reach it…

“I’m the night manager here,” the man responds cheerfully, voice light. “I just heard about the animatronics malfunctioning and, since I had the night off, thought I’d come and see for myself. You must be the night guard; Ms. Josephine, am I right?” Jo nods warily. Something at the back of her mind is setting off warning lights, but she isn’t sure why. The manager chuckles slightly.

“Well? Aren’t you going to let me in?” He gestures to the door. Jo hesitates for a moment, but eventually reaches over and hits the door button, subtly grabbing her phone from the desk as she goes. The metal slides up and the guard steps back to allow the man inside. He steps in, crowding the small space. His eyes land on the car battery hooked sloppily into the wall and a smile crosses his face. A shiver runs down Jo’s spine as the alarm bells clang in warning. That smile…

“So that’s how you survived,” the manager comments through is wide grin. “It wasn’t witchcraft, or those robots malfunctioning; you just rigged the system. What a clever bitch.” The smile twists and warps from the thing of her nightmares to something more akin to a sneer. “Well you were a little too clever, and now I have to take care of you myself!”

There’s a flash of metal and Jo, nearly frozen in shock, is a little too slow getting out of the way. The blade bites deeply into her shoulder, causing red to spill onto the purple sleeve of her uniform, and she shouts, twisting away. The manager snarls and goes after her again, knife flashing in the light, and Jo manages to dodge him for just long enough to stumble out of the still open door. In a second the manager leaps onto the door switch, sending the metal panel slamming down. He walks over to the window and grins smugly down at her. Jo is sprawled across the floor gripping her right shoulder tightly as she tries to stop the flow of blood. She looks up and sees the night manager, his form silhouetted by the dim light of the office. For a split second her vision splits, part of her convinced that she’s looking up at the Purple Man himself, but she snarls, shaking the vision off. There’s no time to be confused by the murder of children; right here, right now, it’s her own life in danger! Jo lurches to her feet, expecting the manager to open the door and come after her at any moment. She’s confused when the man does nothing but cross his arms and grin nastily at her.

“Looks like I don’t have to get my hands dirty after all,” he smirks. “I’ll just let those robots kill you for me.” Jo blinks in surprise before remembering the phone in her pocket. Hiding the motion with a grimace and pretending to be clutching her injured arm, Jo fumbles with the thing and activates the record function.

“So that’s what’ve been happening? All these years, after the children went missing, you would just hire night guards and let the glitch animatronics kill them? What did you do, clean up and hire another?”

“Sounds about right,” the manager smiles. “It’s been working for almost a decade and I don’t see how a girl like you is gonna change it.”

“But why?” Jo presses, working up a few tears and stepping closer to the window, hoping that the phone is getting all this. “Why not just get the animatronics fixed? Or scrap them and get new ones!”

“Because,” the man rumbles, face suddenly dark. “Then they would be found.”

“Who?” Jo asks.

“The children! They would find the bones of those rotten brats and then they’d never stop hunting my brother!” The manager explodes, actually striking the glass in his rage. Jo feels the blood drain from her face even as she staggers back.

“Your…” She chokes, feeling a tremble run down her spine.

“Yes, my brother, Vincent,” the manager replies, tone fading to something close to nostalgic. “We grew up together, you see, and though we didn’t come from the same mother we were as close as brothers. He was never, bad, Vincent, just troubled. And then that rotten brat had to go and blow the whistle on him. Vinnie had to go into hiding and I haven’t seen him since, but they’ll stop looking eventually, and then he can come home.” The last is said with a fanatic fervor and Jo shudders at the manic glint in his eyes. She ends the recording and steps back, more than done with this psycho. The movement brings his eyes back to her and he grins.

“All you have to do is die, just like all the others, and then things will go back to the way they were. So run, bitch, and be sure to scream.” He waves her off and Jo steps back. As the man waves good bye once more Jo stumbles away, still clutching her shoulder. She goes down the hall, weaving wildly from side to side. Plans of going to the bathroom and rigging up some kind of bandage are brought to a screeching halt when she bumps into something large and furry. Jo blinks and looks up into the blue eyes of Freddy Fazbear himself. She jumps back and nearly falls, her injury putting her off balance, only to be stopped by a furry hand wrapping around her bicep in an unpleasantly familiar move.

“Sorry about that,” Freddy rumbles as he releases her and moves back, giving the skittish woman some room to move. “We saw him come in and were just on our way to stop him.” His eyes find the blood on her arm and grow darker. “It looks like we were too late.”

“Oh no!” A feminine voice cries as Chica runs around Freddy to inspect Jo’s arm. “That nasty man hurt you! We’ve got to get you patched up, quick!” She runs off in the other direction just as quickly as she had come, leaving just Bonnie and Foxy to peer worriedly over Freddy’s shoulders.

“I’ll be fine,” Jo smiles reassuringly. Her grin widens as she pulls her phone from her pocket and waggles it at them cheerfully. “And as soon as we get this to the police, everything else will be, too.”

“The man hurt ye, lass,” Foxy snarls angrily. “I’d much rather make him walk the plank!”

“And then you’ll be the same monsters that the children made you be,” Jo answers shortly, rolling her eyes. “Now someone get me a bandage while I call the cops. Then you guys better get back in positions; this place is about to get very busy.”

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_…. And in other news, the case of the four missing children of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was finally solved this morning when the latest night guard, a Miss Josephine Scott, discovered the bodies of the children inside the iconic animatronics of the pizzeria. New evidence, turned in by Ms. Scott, has also led to the arrest of Mister Gregory Cawthon, a conspirator of Vincent Afton, the man convicted of the original kidnappings and now known murderer. Mr. Cawthon has been hiding the evidence of Afton’s murders for many years now, but was finally jailed this morning.”_

_“Thank you, Janine, for that report. In sports news, the local football team…”_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Three months later

Josephine cringes as another shrieking child races past her office, looking up only a when three heavy knocks land on the wood. A brown furry head topped with a black hat pokes inside.

“Chica says to tell you that we’ll need to order more pizza supplies by next week,” Freddy reports, expertly picking up a kid trying to get into the office by the back of his shirt and redirecting the running brat in the other direction. The child dashes off, shouting happily, and Jo winces again as she rubs at her forehead. She took the day manager’s position, switching the bumbling man over to the much quieter night shift, and now business is booming. Bonnie and Freddy sing on stage with Foxy as back up, the pirate animatronic glad to be restored to his former glory, while Chica occasionally joins them. All other times the cheerful chicken is busy terrorizing the kitchen staff in to making first-rate food, the lady animatronic a more expert cook than anyone could have predicted. Business is booming, unfortunately for Josephine’s poor head, but profits are up and, now that the ghosts of the children have moved on, everything is safer as well.

“I’ll make a note, Freddy,” Jo responds dully, rifling through the papers littering her desk for a sheet that looks mostly blank. Freddy closes the door quietly, an indulgent smile on his face. He’s well used to this by now; for all her smarts and mechanical knowledge, the woman is still horrible at keeping things organized. When Jo emerges from the depths of the paper pile she’s clutching a sheet in her hand and scowling at it in confusion.

“Who the heck is the head of security? And what’s this about a second location?”

To Be Continued….


End file.
